Will 20 Volume developer work on med-dark brown hair?

[Pear Martini]

For highlights that is. I am wondering if this is strong enough and for how long it should stay in?

[loralie]

They're gonna be brassy... like orange brassy. I wouldn't leave it on for more than 20 minutes but be seriously careful and wipe off a strand often to see how it's doing.

Either way it's gonna be pretty harsh to the hair you put it on, but if you don't blowdry or straighten it shouldn't freak out and break off.

[Meagan]

For highlights that is. I am wondering if this is strong enough and for how long it should stay in?

It will lighten your hair two shades, giving you probably a coppery tone...if you want to go lighter, try 30v. As for how long it should be in your hair, it all depends on your hair and how well it takes...you can't really time it, but keep checking on it. Remember to leave your roots last...and if you have dead ends id leave that for last too.

[ericthegreat]

Don't try to do it yourself.

Trust me on this. I'm training at an Aveda hair salon, and I have seen all kinds of clients with all kinds of hairtypes. The ones who come in with self-done color or self-done highlights ALWAYS ask to have their color fixed. Haircoloring is a science, and if you don't know what you are doing not only will you end up with an uneven color, the color almost certainly will not turn out the shade you want it to be. You might even end up unnecessarily damaging your hair because if you are lightening your hair with a cheaper brand of bleach, that brand of bleach will often NOT contain any protective conditioning agents. The more expensive brands of bleach will often have citric acid or oil added in to lessen some of the damaging effects.

There are so many factors that come into play when it comes to coloring. Now, you say you have med-dark brown hair. But you see, your hair is not just a plain med-dark brown. It will definitely have underlying colors within it like red and yellow, and loralie is correct you will very likely get orange hair instead of blonde if you simply apply straight up 20 volume bleach. You will definitely also need to apply a toner to knock out the red and yellow tones.

Trust me on this, you really are better off getting this done professionally at a salon, the chances of you making a mistake with this are very high I'm afraid if you try to do this yourself. :flower:

[Calaelen]

I am hairstylist, and I have a lot of training specifically in colour because I had planned on being a colour technician. So, I can tell you, it depends on what you're planning to do with it(bleach or a colour), whether or not you're colouring on virgin hair, and the colour you're trying to achieve.

It is possible to lighten virgin hair up to 4 shades in one session without using bleach, and to tone it with different shades such as ash or platinum blonde instead of a golden. Your natural colour and your hair type will determine results. If your hair is previously coloured, the only way to lighten is using bleach, and yes 20 volume will give you a lift, but will result in a brassy shade, especially if your hair already has warm tones and not ash or neutral.

Although I am not going to say that there is no way to achieve the look you want at home, I can say it is always easier with help. Especially when doing highlights. I would recommend either going to a salon, or getting a friend to help you. (the guy who commented before me is partially right when he says that it is a science and that training is important. However, professional brands of bleach and colour are really no different than what you can buy off the shelf. Stylists are trained to believe this so that they always recommend the professional service, and they end up scaring their clients into fearing "at home colour")

You didn't tell us what look you're going for, or what you're planning to use (bleach or colour, with the developer) so we can only give you some information. One thing I will say is to try using colour before going straight to bleach if your hair is virgin.